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Thursday, January 8, 2009

Game Over

This is a sad day, my friends… So sad, I can almost hear the refrain of a melancholy dirge in the background as I sit to write this commentary. My favorite target (and that of many a mainstream sportswriter), Adam “Don’t Call Me Pacman” Jones, has been released by the Cowboys amid further confirmation (as if we needed any more) that he is a dirt bag. And with the mounting release of recent evidence of more off-the-field evilness, Jones appears to have played his last NFL football game.

The latest allegations against Jones stem from an incident at a strip club (go figure!) in Atlanta, a mere two months (June 2007) after his NFL suspension handed down by Commissioner Roger Goodell for previous off-the-field incidents (precipitated chiefly by his involvement in a previous strip club incident in Las Vegas). Jones allegedly got into a scuffle with three men inside the Atlanta club. Eh, it happens… (I mean, not to me… or you, probably… but to “people,” I guess) But what makes this scuffle remarkable (apart from the fact that he was just suspended for similar behavior) was that Jones agreed to pay another man in the club (who was previously charged with murder in a different case) to shoot at the three men as they left the strip club that night. Jones role in the shooting went unnoticed until police received a tip from an informant, and the story broke this week.

This next bit is a story in and of itself… ESPN contacted the Cowboys and informed them they would be running a story on the incident on Sunday’s episode of Outside the Lines (which is really a pretty good show if you’ve never seen it; its like 60 Minutes for sports). Less than 48 hours later, the ‘Boys cut Pacman… Coincidence? I think not! However, the Cowboys cited only Jones’ poor play in his limited tenure with the club as justification for his release. This is clearly a manifestation of Cowboy Owner Jerry Jones’ ego, and nothing more. He refuses to admit that the house of cards he built in Dallas with ne’erdowells and instigators came tumbling down this year because of the team’s general lack of discipline, facilitated by HIS hubris and ostrich-like view of the NFL’s player personnel. But I digress…

As I have said in this forum once before when referencing Pacman, “I could tell a long drawn out parable here about a frog and a scorpion and how people don’t change their natures, but I will spare you” (Oct 9, 2008 post “Hat trick”). This guy is done… If he EVER sees another snap in the NFL, Goodell and the owner that gives him a shot should both be immediately removed from their positions for gross negligence and outright stupidity. Some may say I’m a hater… that I’m just jealous of pro athletes. Well, that is 100% true. I am jealous that they get treated differently than everyone else; that they get chance after chance at making millions of dollars when they exhibit behavior that would get you and me locked up for 2-10. And I hate that this is what major sports media is forced to talk about in the midst of a great playoff season!

I am certainly sad that my favorite opportunity to “hate the playa not the game” is getting his final boot out the door. But the Football Gods have (hopefully) finally woken up and realized what people like Jones are doing to my beloved League.